Watchdog clears Google's street cameras

Google's controversial Street View service – which will offer ground-level pictures of every UK street online – can finally be launched in Britain, after a privacy watchdog said it had no complaints about the service.

Some attacked it as a "burglar's charter", allowing criminals to look for potential victims over the internet.

But the Information Commissioner's Office, which had been investigating complaints, said in a statement: "We are satisfied that Google is putting in place adequate safeguards to avoid any risk to the privacy or safety of individuals, including the blurring of vehicle registration marks and the faces of anyone included in Street View images. Although it is possible that in certain limited circumstances an image may allow identification of an individual, it is clear that Google are keen to capture images of streets and not individuals."

The commissioner's office said it was satisfied with Google's online reporting mechanism, which lets people concerned about their privacy ask to have their images removed from the system.

London-based Privacy International had written to Google demanding details of the technology the internet giant would use to ensure that identifying details would be blurred.

That data was not forthcoming, but the commissioner's office said the lengthy delay between the images being taken by Google's roaming photographic cars and publication meant that the chances of using the system to track people were very slim.

Street View has been available for several big US cities since last year, where it has generally proved less controversial than under the more restrictive privacy regimes in Europe. However, the US military complained about photographs of a base in Texas, and a Pittsburgh couple filed a lawsuit against Google alleging that Street View indulged in a "reckless invasion" of their privacy when it took photographs of their home from a street marked with a "private road" sign.

For some of those less concerned about the potential for invasions of privacy, Street View has achieved something like cult status.